BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 564 (Eggman) - Regional centers: parental fees
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|Version: July 16, 2015 |Policy Vote: HUMAN S. 5 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: August 17, 2015 |Consultant: Brendan McCarthy |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 564 would revise the requirements of the existing
Parental Fee Program for children placed in 24-hour out-of-home
care, primarily by establishing a fee structure based on family
income.
Fiscal
Impact:
Likely one-time costs of about $150,000 to revise existing
formulas and procedures and to revise existing regulations by
the Department of Developmental Services (General Fund).
Projected annual revenue loss of about $190,000 due to changes
to the Parental Fee Structure (Program Development Fund). The
bill would exempt families with incomes between 100% and 200%
of the federal poverty level from paying fees, leading to a
reduction in annual fee revenues. In addition, the bill would
authorize families to request a recalculation of their fee
before the annual fee redetermination. In combination, the
Department indicates that these changes will reduce annual fee
revenues by $190,000 per year.
AB 564 (Eggman) Page 1 of
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Unknown potential increase if fee revenues due to simplified
program requirements (Program Development Fund). According to
the Department, the current structure of the program has led
to inconsistent application of fees across the state. By
simplifying the program rules, the Department indicates that
compliance with the program's requirements may actually
increase, increasing overall fee revenues. For example, a
simpler, more consistent fee structure is likely to reduce
appeals and eliminate the subjectivity from calculating fee
levels. Also, a recent audit of the program found that there
are significant amounts of uncollected fees. In part, this may
be due to resistance to paying fees by families who feel that
their fee calculations were unfair.
Background: California provides community-based services to approximately
250,000 persons with developmental disabilities and their
families through a statewide system of 21 regional centers.
Regional centers are private, nonprofit agencies under contract
with the Department of Developmental Services for the provision
of various services and supports to people with developmental
disabilities. As a single point of entry, regional centers
provide diagnostic and assessment services to determine
eligibility; convene planning teams to develop an Individual
Program Plan for each eligible consumer; and either provide or
obtain from generic agencies appropriate services for each
consumer in accordance with the Individual Program Plan.
Under current law, families of children who are placed in
24-hour out-of-home care are required to pay Parental Fees. The
purpose of this program is to offset General Fund costs for
providing out-of-home care. Under current law, the Department of
Developmental Services is required to establish a fee schedule
for the Parental Fee Program using factors such as the costs for
caring for a child at home, medical expenses previously incurred
by the child, parental payments for medical expenses, and other
factors. Families with gross income below 100% of the federal
poverty level are exempt from the Parental Fee Program.
For example, a family of four with a gross income of $60,000 per
year would pay a fee roughly between $470 and $536 per month
(the actual fee could vary somewhat depending on family specific
factors). For a family of four with a gross income of $90,000,
AB 564 (Eggman) Page 2 of
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the fee would be roughly between $882 and $1,005.
A January 2015 report by the Bureau of State Audits found that
implementation of the Parental Fee Program was inconsistent. The
fee levels paid by families varied considerably. In large part
this is because the current process for assessing fees is
complicated and subject to differing interpretations by
Department staff and because staff often make fee level
determinations without adequate documentation. In addition, the
audit found that fee levels are almost always reduced on appeal.
Families that know how to request an appeal are therefore able
to pay lower fees than those who do not.
Proposed Law:
AB 564 would revise the requirements of the existing Parental
Fee Program for children placed in 24-hour out-of-home care,
primarily by establishing a fee structure based on family
income.
Specific provisions of the bill would:
Delete the existing requirements for establishing the
Parental Fee Program fee amounts, as of July 1, 2016;
Delete the requirement that families with income below
200% of the federal poverty level pay the Parental Fee;
Set the new Parental Fee level at 3% percent of income
for families with incomes between 201% and 300% of the
federal poverty level;
Set the new Parental Fee level at 4% percent of income
for families with incomes between 301% and 400% of the
federal poverty level;
Set the new Parental Fee level at 5% percent of income
for families with incomes between 401% and 500% of the
federal poverty level;
Set the new Parental Fee level at 6% percent of income
for families with incomes over 501% of the federal poverty
level;
Specify the information families must provide to the
Department to verify their income;
Prohibit any fee applied under the program from
exceeding the maximum monthly cost of caring for a child at
home;
Require the Parental Fee to be recalculated every 12
months and within 60 days of a request for a recalculation
by a family (including families whose child was placed in
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24-hour care prior to July 1, 2016);
Authorize the Department to grant a temporary waiver of
fees when a family incurs significant medical costs;
Specify the process for appealing the fee determination
amount;
Specify that fee revenues be deposited in the Program
Development Fund to pay for new programs or offset General
Fund costs.
Staff
Comments: Currently, the families of 695 children are eligible
for the Parental Fee Program. However, almost half of those
families have incomes below 100% of the federal poverty level
and are therefore exempt from paying fees. About 20% of families
have incomes between 100% and 200% of the federal poverty level
and would be exempted from paying fees under this bill. While
this is a significant share of the number of eligible families,
the actual revenue loss from exempting these families is less
than $200,000 per year.
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